New Shoes and Good Conversation

I bought a new pair of shoes today. If I'm lucky I won't put them on in the morning and decide I hate them, which I almost always do. It can take me weeks to buy a pair I like, returning them the day after I buy them and picking up another pair. Once it took me three months to buy a pair of shoes for a wedding then I got on a plane, flew 1600 miles, and bought a new pair the morning before the wedding! Anyway, I got a pair of black, conservative loafers. I've been wearing my crocs or sneakers to work for a while now, wearing my dress shoes only once in the last three months? I'm bad, but nobody cares. Clients almost never come in the office and when they do, all they see is me sitting behind my desk - one of those wrap-around reception desks. My hope is that these shoes will be comfortable and durable, since dress shoes almost never fit either category.

I had a really fun conversation with a friend tonight. To be honest, I don't remember most of what we talked about; it was just fun to talk and laugh and enjoy the banter. I love conversations like that - there aren't any lulls in the conversation because you're just jumping from one dumb topic to another and having a girl moment. At one point her husband told her to tell me a joke and pass it on to my husband, here it is: How do you catch a circle? With a trapezoid. That's funny only to math geeks. Ha Ha. Hmmm.

Another friend sent me an email about how to stop worrying while trying to fall asleep. My trick is to watch television but many people think that's counter-productive. Her idea was to think of thirty things that you like... your spouse, kids, parents, where you live, where you'd like to visit, foods you love. She says it's very positive and even a good way to wake up if you have the time. I guess it's working for her and she really likes it. Thanks for the tip LJ! On the worrying front, I finished the books at work today, packed them up, made a backup of Quickbooks, and put it all on my boss's desk. It felt good and I worked at a relaxed pace the rest of the day, even clearing several more pressing items off my to-do list. I even found a bond for a contractors license that I thought I'd lost. Sometimes my piles get out of hand. Finally, the 'to-do' section is smaller than the 'done' section. Who knew I could be so productive?!

I mentioned earlier that I was going to read The Power of Positive Thinking. After reading a couple of chapters I decided that it just wasn't for me so I've started reading books on organizing and pouring over cookbooks again. They clear my head, are calming and work on that creative side that I've been trying to develop for years.

The hubby spent most of last night doing calculus homework and making frustrated noises. They weren't as bad as last semester, but they sure did sound familiar. He told me I had no idea how hard it was and I had to agree with him. No only do I not know, I would never take such a class - if I did, they might as well give me the F and save me the headache. Social sciences classes, that's where I excel. Psychology, sociology, criminology... These are the classes I'm working on - they are all that's between me and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology. The hubby is still working on the final classes to be accepted into his Bachelors program - Computer Science, but I think he'll end up in the Technology Education program. I think he really wants to teach. When the boys were little he was an assistant den leader and worked really hard with the kids, then one year he got a scholarship that required him to volunteer 40 hours per semester with children. He signed up with the school district and helped out in Matt and Lindsay's classes for a year and a half - kindergarten, first, fifth and sixth grades. He enjoyed working with them and when he saw that CSU offered the Technology Education degree that qualifies graduates to teach kindergarten through twelfth grades, he was hooked.

Well, off to bed. Tomorrow is a new day with lots of promise. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. Jake will be staying home from school because he's finally admitted that he's sick. A will probably tell us she's sick (she pulled that this morning but had a great day at school), and Matt will be out the door earlier than anyone else, and be just as happy about it as he was today. I think he was suffering from cabin fever and couldn't wait to see his friends. He asked if he could go to weights after school and we told him he could as long as he wasn't too tired. Both of the boys attend weights at the high school during the off season in preparation for football. Matt can tell the coaches that he gave Jake the flu so they won't think he's slacking off. Another kid sick, hopefully the rest of us escape it.